Fresh-faced and dressed in a white tunic and leggings, Kayden Kross sits at her dining room table in the San Fernando Valley with the California sunlight pouring in through the doors behind her. She runs her fingers through her long blonde hair and occasionally places a hand on her belly: at 28 years old, she’s expecting her first child* with her fiancé, Manuel Ferrara.

But Kross has an unconventional background leading up to motherhood—the Sacramento native is one of porn’s biggest stars. With a resume that includes leads in movies like Body Heat and Tyler’s Wood (a spoof on Tiger Woods’ many transgressions, starring Kross as Elin Nordegren), she’s won awards [...]